Henry VIII, an opera in four acts to a libretto by Léonce Détroyat and Armand Silvestre, was first performed at the Paris Opéra on March 5, 1883. "Despite Saint-Saëns’ care for authenticity of period and place, the music’s strongest impression is of a tightly constructed score with vocal and orchestral resources skilfully deployed, especially in the confrontation scenes. After Samson et Dalila this was his most successful opera, widely performed in the composer’s lifetime, often in a reduced three-act version that simply omitted Act 3." Hugh Macdonald in Grove Music Online. Item #24758